BlackStar_93

Also, I just wanted to chime in on the Jack conversations as I think the hate he's getting is unwarranted. Here's the thing: Jack is super talented, there's no disputing that. Him and Taylor do make magic together, and I think people are quick to forget that he's been involved in some very acclaimed songs from previous albums. When 1989 came out, people loved OOTW; Getaway Car has always been a fan favorite off reputation; and let's not forget Cruel Summer, Maroon, August, etc all fan favorites from their respective albums. The only (constructive) criticism I can put forward is that I can see why people may feel an album can become a little too cohesive when working consistently with the same producer for most of the record. Whilst it's great for an album to be sonically cohesive, it can sometimes lack diversity in its sonic landscape. 1989, reputation, and even Lover are great examples of cohesive pop records that still retain diversity in their musical language. Folklore and Evermore are again, great examples of sonic cohesion with variety. I think what I'm trying to say is, sometimes songs lose their "punch" if they've been preceded by two or three songs that also sound similar. Look at August and the songs before it (Seven, Mirrorball, and MTR): they're all spectacular songs in their own right, but different enough so that when August starts, your ears recognise something a bit different, something that stands out. TTPD is an amazing album and as I said before, Taylor and Jack work so well together on a musical level, but I do get the constructive side of some of the criticism (not the hate/boycott, that's just immature). It's taken me a good week to digest the album and pick my favorites, because on first listen there wasn't that immediate "omg I need this song on repeat" moment because a few were quite interchangeable. It's not a bad thing, it's just one of those albums you appreciate the more you listen to it.

I hope to god SN isn't deleted from the Eras tour for when I see her in June… we only get one song and it's always been a fan favorite. Enchanted is far too important to the setlist to lose imo. If anything, I'd rather her sheer down some of the bulkier parts of the show like Midnights, Folklore and Evermore. As much as I love them and hate to say it, TLGAD or Betty could easily be cut, alongside Mastermind. Again, I lover the Lover album but The Man could go (I'd rather her cut this over The Archer). if 10-15 mins could be cut elsewhere, that would leave time for Fortnight (obviously as it's TTPD single), another upbeat track (maybe MBOBHFT or ICDIWABH), and then either a mash-up or an acoustic set where she could rotate some of the other songs. That way, TTPD won't eat up all the surprise song spaces, because whilst I love the album, I love the suspense of not knowing what older song she's gonna play.

The standard version trinity: Guilty As Sin > The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived > So Long, London the anthology trinity: The Black Dog > imgonnagetyouback > The Albotross

Well, Taylor's music is autobiographical so she's going to write about stuff that's had a big emotional impact on her. Sure, it happened years ago but have y'all never been wronged and then still felt bitter/annoyed by it years later? That's just part of being human. "Forgive and forget" is a farce, you can forgive them/move on, but those feelings of anger/resentment don't just disappear overnight.

Anybody else hear If This Was A Movie in the verses of BDILH? I thought of that song straight away the first time I heard this song.

Little Albatrosters truly won. The best of the four variant bonus tracks, I fear. the Albatross >The Black Dog>The Manuscript>The Bolter

It's up there, but Clean still has that spot for me.

I hope she releases the second half as a standalone CD/vinyl. It'll be kind of annoying if it's repackaged with all 31 songs when we all have the standard album + one song with each variant. It'd make all our original vinyls pretty redundant, tbh.

I just listened to the standard all the way through on my record player and wow… what a cathartic album. It's definetly more low-key than Midnights and doesn't have as instantly hook-y songs like Anti-Hero, Bejewelled, and Karma. The pop moments are there, though. I mean, Down Bad, BDILH and ICDIWABH have such good choruses. best songs are: BDILH, So Long, London, loml, and The Alchemy. The second album is far more Folklore/Evermore coded. It's so beautiful and less pop-driven than the first half. Can we please talk about The Black Dog and The Albotross? Absolute masterpieces.

Yeah the double release with RepTV rumours need to stop. If Midnights is anything to go by, she doesn't want new eras to crossover with the re-recordings and wants them to have a life of their own. plus, look at it logically: Rep is the last "big" TV because whilst I love debut, that one will not be hyped as much as Rep. she will hype its release as much as she can and will want those pre-order numbers. All the other TV releases except Fearless followed the same trajectory - an announcement followed by months of waiting without so much as a scrap of music. Ain't no way is she letting her last pop re-recording be overshadowed by a new album and have no pre-orders. If there's another surprise, it'll either be a "3am" style release, or some sort of visual and/or poetry release.

Taylor's musical journey from her early country days to where she is now is actually very interesting. She's done country/pop, synth-pop, alternative/AC, folk-influenced, etc. Her musical output is very diverse and she's clearly pushed herself creatively and musically over the years. I mean, Folklore/Evermore are absolute masterclasses in songwriting and actually include some very unusual/nuanced musical/production elements. People who say stuff like this have clearly never listened to her discography outside her top 10 hits. idk, call me biased because I'm a fan but Taylor's career and change of musical style over the years is certainly one for the history books. Besides, isn't "interesting" subjective? For example, I don't care for metal music and it doesn't interest me personally, but that doesn't make it uninteresting, right?

I can see why she doesn't release lead singles anymore; she certainly doesn't need the exposure and the demand/hype is already there. People will go into the album pre-order blind and hedge their bets that they will enjoy the album (myself included). However, I do miss the days of lead/promo singles. It was nice having a preview of the album to whet our appetites. I guess Lover was the last traditional era (I know she released stuff before Fearless TV, but I don't count that as it was a re-recording). Also, I'm basic and pre-ordered the standard vinyl. I don't really buy into album variants tbh, and I know damn well in 6 months time we'll get "The Tortured Poets Department: The Lost Files" or something like that with all the variant songs on. Bring back the Standard/Deluxe album system, it felt way fairer: generally, casual listeners used the standard, and the fans used the deluxe.

I'm so excited and never thought we'd get another new album so soon. Her work ethic is so admirable. she's super smart not releasing a lead-single because a) she doesn't need the hype and b) hearing the album for the first time is more of a surprise as we have no idea about the sound. Is it Midnights synth-pop? Is it indie/folksy sounding? Alternative? Is it singer-songwriter acoustic? Who knows.

Yeah, the Witness era was wild. She went from America's sweetheart too being ridiculed and laughed at. Now don't get me wrong, I know some of the criticism was warranted (Witness album was quite weak), but a lot of the hate she got was very misogyny loaded. People disliked her drastic change in appearance from the pin-up girl look she was loved for to the short pixie cut, and multi media platforms (blogs, gossip sites, social media etc) all perpetuated those narratives. Everything about the era was woefully mismanaged; from that bizarre livestream she did, to "that" performance of Bon Apetite. I get that some of these creative decisions would've been hers and were less than ideal, but no one can argue that the haircut became such an issue when it really shouldn't have. Mainstream media basically perpetuated the idea that without the pin-up look and signature black hair, she was no longer worthy of our attention. Sad really, just another example of mainstream culture using someone until they find a reason to hate on them. On a positive note, Katy has an amazing voice and NRO slaps and remains on my workout playlist to this day.

Both negative, imo. People are addicted and are no longer connecting with their loved ones the way they used to. How many times do you see friends/couples/families out together but they're all stuck, staring at their screens? And, as already said, society's become very narcissistic and social media gives people an outlet to attention seek and have opinions on every little thing. I even hate how a lot of workplaces use Teams/social media now. On my day off I can't escape because I still get messages relating to work. There's just no respite from anything now and it's so hard to switch off. i find it all really depressing, if I'm being honest.